Marathon fundraiser planned in Hartlepool to support national children’s charity

FUNDRAISER: Corrine Winwood and owner Jeni Hart (right) from Tea at Hart Cafe in Hartlepool prepare for their charity fundraising games event in May

Mark Payne

Published:17:02Friday 08 May 2015

A CAFE will break out the board games for a marathon fundraiser as it supports a national children’s charity.

Monopoly, Scrabble and Boggle will be served up as Tea@Hart in Hartlepool encourages people to put away their gadgets for the NSPCC’s Really Big Board Game Day fundraiser.

There has been a real resurgence in board games.

Cafe owner Jeni Hart

Cafe owner Jeni Hart says board games have enjoyed a recent revival and help to bring people together.

Jeni, who is organising the event on Saturday, May 16, said: “There has been a real resurgence in board games. Families are now choosing more and more to spend time together playing games across a table – with the traditional games such as Monopoly and Scrabble being joined by a host of favourites including Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride and Qwirkle.

“They are a really integral part of what we do. We run a number of successful gaming nights and customers can play during the day.

“It has really taken off since we opened six months ago.

“It therefore seemed like a natural opportunity to support the NSPCC’s Big Board Game event to support them.”

The cafe, in York Road, recently joined in International Table Top Day with 14 hours of non-stop tabletop gaming.

The day was hailed a huge success with visitors playing Magic: the Gathering, Qwirkle, Top Trumps, Firefly: The Board Game, Settlers of Catan and Dreadball.

And local gaming gurus introduced visitors to a variety of new games including Dead Man’s Draw, Fluxx and Go Sushi!.

Playing games has proved so popular, the cafe has had to expand to the first floor of the building to give more space to roll the dice and deal the cards.

In a recent survey, almost six out of 10 adults from the North East said board games are more fun than video games.

Monopoly was voted the game people most enjoyed playing as a child, with almost a third saying it is still their favourite followed by word game Scrabble and The Game of Life.

People all over the country will be invited to sign up for a day of play in aid of the NSPCC the day before on May 15.

Wendy Bates, NSPCC head of community fundraising for the North East, said: “Children naturally express themselves through play and it’s a great way to bring families and friends together.

“I hope workplaces, community centres, pubs and homes will be filled with the sounds of shakers, tiles and laughter as we team up with Hasbro Gaming for our Really Big Board Game Day on May 15.”

Everyone who joins in will be asked to give a donation that will support the charity’s play therapy work to help children recover from abuse and neglect.

At Tea@Hart there will also be a prize draw and sale of home made cakes with all proceeds from the day going to the NSPCC.